


Should I?

by shichan



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Seducing, Theatre club, Tomoya is struggling, Wataru is a troll
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:30:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8398129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shichan/pseuds/shichan
Summary: «Tomoya-kun, you remember the scene?»«Yes.» he turns a couple of pages, pointing at the first line of the heroine «Here.»«Right. What’s happening here?» Wataru asks, an unusual calm voice, the same patience he could use while teaching to a kid; he makes Tomoya feel a bit irritated, but he doesn’t say it.«The heroine meets the protagonist of the story, and they fall in love.»«Wrong.»





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really confident about Wataru's IC but well... I'm not confident about a lot of characters *chuckles*  
> I hope this is still enjoyable! As always, thanks to naripolpetta, because she's an AMAZING (pun intended) proofreader <3

Tomoya looks at the script once more, frowning and unsatisfied. It’s not the first time he has to act as the heroine, and he has been scolded before about mistakes during practice - Wataru is really meticulous when it comes to acting and Tomoya respects it; it is, in fact, one of the few aspects about Hibiki-senpai he has never criticized, the few words he has always listened to without thinking about them as pointless or just as the words of a fool.   
It’s not that Tomoya doesn’t accept critics, or that he thinks about himself as a pro actor; he knows better than anyone else how many flaws he has, how much he has to improve before he compares himself to Hokuto-senpai, let alone to Hibiki-senpai. And yet, this is something he can’t understand.   
«Tomoya-kun, it’s already late and we have just finished our practice… are you sure you want to stay?» it’s what Hajime asked him, a bit of worry on his face, half an hour ago. Tomoya tried to smile and reassure him, but he knows that his reply has probably come out more impolite than he meant to. He’ll have to apologise tomorrow.   
It’s so _frustrating_ : what’s so different about this heroine that he doesn’t seem to be able to express into his acting?   
«Ah, Tomoya-kun?»   
This is the voice he really doesn’t want to hear right now. He stiffens and stays still; he is near the big mirror that Ra*bits used to practice their dance, so he unfortunately _sees_ Wataru coming in and smiling at him. He can’t really ignore him.   
« _Buchou_ .» he mumbles, not really sure if he wants to give the idea of someone who wants to talk. Of course Wataru doesn’t need it to start a conversation.   
«Is that the script? My, Tomoya-kun, you’re so passionate about this play! AMAZING!»   
Tomoya’s grip on the script tightens a bit. Here he is, with the nonsensical comments Tomoya really doesn’t know how to reply to: «Not enough.» he lets it slip from his lips, still not sure about sharing his thoughts with their _cause_ , but unable to keep them to himself. He really does love acting, and if he has to step on his (not so big) pride to succeed, well. It’s not like he has a choice, anyway: «I might be passionate as _Buchou_ says, but it’s not enough when I’m not good at expressing the feelings of a character, right?»   
Wataru doesn’t reply immediately, and that makes Tomoya look up from the script to see why someone like Hibiki-senpai, who never stops talking, is being so quiet. What he finds is an expression he’s never seen - or so rarely that it seems unknown to him: Wataru looks like he’s lost in his thoughts. Maybe he didn’t even listened to him. Maybe he has already forgotten his own words - “ _Tomoya-kun, you were totally out of character, so much I feel hurt in the poor heroine stead_ ”.   
Tomoya knows the only situation in which Wataru can be strict is acting, but...   
«What it’s so difficult that you can’t picture in your head, Tomoya-kun?»   
It surprises him, so much that when he looks at Hibiki-senpai it’s quite obvious how Tomoya didn’t expect some help out of him. Wataru giggles: «You thought I would have left my cute _kohai_ alone without helping him? How cruel of you, Tomoya-kun.» he jokes, or maybe he’s serious, that’s something Tomoya really can’t guess most of the time (always).   
The younger one hesitates, and then he sighs: «At yesterday practice you said I was out of character.» he mumbles, and he doesn’t add the last part of that sentence because it still hurts somehow, because it makes him feel so useless and lousy, and he really doesn’t need it. He knows it already, that he can’t shine like Hibiki-senpai or Hokuto-senpai.   
«Yes?»   
«Well, I don’t know why.» Tomoya adds, sharp «So I… would appreciate if you could give me some advice, _Buchou_ .» he adds, trying to calm down a bit. He can feel Wataru’s look on him, but he focuses on the script.   
«Tomoya-kun, you remember the scene?»   
«Yes.» he turns a couple of pages, pointing at the first line of the heroine «Here.»   
«Right. What’s happening here?» Wataru asks, an unusual calm voice, the same patience he could use while teaching to a kid; he makes Tomoya feel a bit irritated, but he doesn’t say it.   
«The heroine meets the protagonist of the story, and they fall in love.»   
«Wrong.»   
«What does ‘wrong’ mean?» Tomoya blurts out before he can’t avoid it and swallow those words. Wataru giggles again, moving his index finger like he is scolding the same little kid he’s teaching to; but before Tomoya can say something about it, Wataru seems to look at the script seriously.   
«She doesn’t fall in love. She is falling _head over heels_ for him. She’s trying to suppress the feeling while it grows, and it grows so much it’s unbearable. She struggles, because she knows it’s not a good thing, that he’s not a good person and there will be nothing but unhappiness and yet she can’t avoid it. He’s overwhelming. He never gives her a rest, he pushes over and over again. It’s like a curse, Tomoya-kun. So no, she’s not simply falling in love. It’s not a teenager’s love story.» he explains and Tomoya finds himself unable to look away from the person who is next to him. Never once Wataru has been so serious while giving advices to his _kohai_ about acting. It’s a weird babbling that doesn’t make any sense most of the times.   
«I...» he looks at the script once again. He has really understood what Wataru has told him, but… how is he supposed to express such a strong, mixed, ambiguous feeling?   
«With all due respect, _Buchou_ » he starts again, looking at him now: «it’s totally impossible for me. How am I supposed to know how she feels like?»   
«My, Tomoya-kun, a real actor doesn’t surrender to his role!»   
«But I have never felt something like this, I mean — »   
«You should let Hokuto-kun seduce you!»   
«...Hibiki-senpai, how am I supposed to know what being seduced _by a man_ feels like?!» he exclaims, because seriously, he was even paying attention to him! Tomoya looks away, ready to stand up from the chair he was sitting on and go away. But Wataru surprises him again.   
«Should I teach you? There’s something I’d like to try before proposing it as the next play of our club.» he admits like Tomoya has already accepted his help «The stories are pretty different but the protagonists have a similar way of doing things. I don’t know if this story is a good one, so...» _so what_ is Tomoya’s thought, but Wataru is rummaging his own bag searching for God knows what. Wataru hums until he finds his cellphone and looks at Tomoya with sparkling eyes. Tomoya knows what this means - _troubles_ , at least for him.   
«So, Tomoya-kun» he begins, while connecting his cellphone with the stereo Ra*bits used during their practice «do you mind a bit of music? I’ve found the perfect soundtrack for the scene where the protagonist seduce his beloved one!» he exclaims enthusiastically, like he’s a six years old «Now» he continues, while his hand goes in his pocket and brings a hair-tie out «let’s focus on your situation.»   
Tomoya looks at him, at his hands tying his long hair in a ponytail, and then he shakes his head - it’s not the first time he sees Hibiki-senpai like this, and he doubts it will help with this sort of “how to be seduced” lesson he never asked for.   
«We already met.» Wataru starts giving him instructions while he taps on his smartphone «We keep noticing each other but we don’t really talk until this fated encounter!» and he’s so full of enthusiasm, as much as Tomoya wants to call it a day, go home and forget about the whole thing until tomorrow.   
«You don’t need the script, Tomoya-kun.»   
«I don’t know my lines by heart yet...»   
«You don’t need to. I’m going to seduce you, Tomoya-kun, and this is not something you can control. You have to react genuinely, how are you supposed to do it if you’re reading the script?» he teases him and puts the smartphone on the table, near the stereo.   
«Leave the script» he repeats «and don’t focus too much on your role.» he suggests him, and Tomoya doesn’t really have much time because the moment he leaves the script on the chair and moves some steps away from it, the music is starting already.   
At first, Tomoya wonders where the story Wataru was telling about is settled, because the melody remembers him of some exotic place he can’t better identify, since he’s never gone abroad. It’s hard to figure himself as someone who is being seduced with that soundtrack - but the music has some appeal, if he listens carefully: it’s lively, almost festive, but it becomes somehow feverish, like someone has the _urgency_ to reach something or someone, like their life depends on it.   
Suddenly, there’s an arm around his waist and Tomoya jumps a little, turning his head on the right; he regrets it the moment he finds his face just _inches_ away from Wataru’s. The older one is smiling tenderly, his hand doesn’t move much and seems to be used just so that their bodies get closer. Tomoya swallows, a simply and uncertain «Hibiki-senpa — » that is interrupted by Wataru, his index finger brushing Tomoya’s lips to silence him. Wataru is still smiling, like he knows something Tomoya is too young to understand: his finger trails Tomoya’s chin, moves along Tomoya’s neck and shoulder; it’s replaced by Wataru’s hand that caresses Tomoya’s arm, going down until fingers touch Tomoya’s wrist and, finally, the older’s hand takes Tomoya’s.   
It vaguely resembles a ball, like if Wataru is a gentleman guiding Tomoya in an unknown dance. But Wataru’s tender smile becomes a smug one when his lips brush against Tomoya’s hand. It’s not really a kiss, it’s more like a warning and Tomoya feels warmth on his cheeks and tries to distance himself.   
Surprisingly, Wataru lets him - he’s _playing with him_ .   
Wataru moves some steps away, and it confuses Tomoya because what is he trying to do? This is not how someone seduces the person they like, it’s just teasing and what should he learn from this? Not to trust Wataru? That’s something he already knows all too well.   
The third year looks at him, walks around the room while the music keeps playing; Tomoya doesn’t know why, but the melody makes him anxious: it’s unpredictable, one moment it’s the perfect soundtrack for a festival in a small city, then it’s suddenly an accompaniment for the most important scene in a play. It’s so exciting and then it changes, it becomes so sad, like someone is depriving Wataru of everything.  
Tomoya shivers when he notices Wataru’s expression: his gaze is grieved, his lips curve in a smile that has the same effect a punch in Tomoya’s stomach would have; but at some point Wataru looks at him and the happiness he shows to him is so _genuine_ Tomoya feels his stomach tightening because there’s something he recognises in Wataru’s eyes - not because people look at him like that or because he has felt that particular emotion. It’s just that he has seen too many movies, and read too many _manga_ (let alone all the scripts and plays he has studied and watched) and now he know how love looks like in the eyes of an enamoured person.   
Wataru looks at him like if Tomoya has been hidden by someone all this time, like he has searched for him year after year and has finally found him. Wataru walks towards him and Tomoya doesn’t dare to move, and when the other hugs him so tight that it’s like if Tomoya is the most important thing in the world, he feels so flustered he doesn’t know what to do - he doesn’t move away, but he doesn’t hug him back either.   
Wataru talks for the first time: he whispers near Tomoya’s ear, the same way people confess unforgivable crimes, shameless desires, secrets no one else deserves to hear; all he says it’s his name - _Tomoya, Tomoya, Tomoya_ .   
And he - Tomoya - doesn’t know what it gets to his head but his fingers touches lightly Wataru’s hair, some of the locks that are over his shoulder; it’s just a moment, though, because Wataru moves away enough to look at him _again_ . The music has changed again, a slight swing that seems to speed up not only the rhythm but also Wataru’s thoughts and intentions, because the smile on his face is no longer the one of a lover who is finally able to see his loved one but the one of a man who has never been rejected. It’s the same expression Wataru has on the stage, the one that makes Tomoya forget who he really is; and that happens now too. Wataru is just a person, with a charm Tomoya always pretends to forget when they meet outside of their clubroom.   
And he’s close once again, his hand reaches out towards Tomoya’s chest and his fingers touch it; that touch is ridiculously light, it doesn’t seem real but it’s there, and Tomoya feels so warm when those fingers make contact with the fabric of his shirt that he feels so embarrassed without a real reason. He dares to peek at Wataru’s face and regrets it immediately: Wataru is looking at him with such a strong _desire_ that Tomoya feels as ashamed as he would if he were naked in front a whole crowd - it’s like Wataru is exposing all Tomoya’s secrets and he doesn’t like it one bit.   
He holds his breath when Wataru closes the distance between them, their bodies almost in contact with each other, their breathes matching. Wataru’s hand is still brushing against Tomoya’s chest but it suddenly goes up, touching until it reaches his neck, only the thumb still caressing the cheek. He doesn’t realize Wataru closing the distance between their faces until he’s so close it’s almost bothersome to look at him in the eyes.   
Tomoya barely hears the music becoming so close behind that it seems to encourage Wataru; the third year tilts his head and he kisses Tomoya’s cheek, and then his neck and Tomoya jumps a little because this is so intimate and he wants to run away. But Wataru’s arm is around his waist again and brings Tomoya even closer, so much that their chests touch and Tomoya puts his hands against Wataru’s shoulders to distance himself for the second time.   
«Hibiki-senpai» Tomoya murmurs, because this is too much, his stomach is doing something weird - his heart beats so fast he is sure he must be sick. Maybe he really practiced too much.   
«You should call me by my name.» Wataru whispers near Tomoya’s ear, his lips casually touching Tomoya’s lobe and then Wataru laughs quietly, noticing how much Tomoya is blushing while he tries to mumble something: «Or have I already seduced you to the point you’re wordless, Tomoya?» he adds, and Tomoya shuts his eyes.   
_It’s not like this, it’s not like this_ _—_ the music stops so abruptly that Tomoya feels like he’s been deprived of something irreplaceable. It’s like he’s expecting Wataru to let him go, because without the music isn’t this pretense over? Can’t they go back to be the students they are? Can’t he breathe normally again?   
«You...» Tomoya tries to say something, because he has the feeling he _has to speak_ first, so the spell will be undone «You haven’t…?» he hates the doubt in his own voice, and the smirk he _feels_ on his skin before Wataru moves his head and looks at him.   
It’s just a matter of seconds: Wataru is smiling in that enigmatic way that is so like him - that Tomoya hates so much - and then his lips are so close to Tomoya’s that it’s almost like they are really…   
«Have I not?»   
Why are his lips so soft?


End file.
